Can I have my bollards back?

[jrenaut]

I hear they’re going to do another useless but showy enforcement at 10am tomorrow – well past rush hour, and on the day before a big holiday weekend. I think knee-jerk enforcement after the mainstream media makes them look bad is even worse than no enforcement at all.

I’d like to see anyone who is able to ride through at 10am and ask the police officers to please come back at rush hour, when it really matters, and when it might really make a difference.

[KLizotte]

It would be more beneficial if the police themselves applied pressure to the aforementioned organizations (and Mayor’s office) to get the infrastructure improved. I’m sure they don’t like hanging around giving out traffic tickets.

Also, many kudos to Justin Antos for the great pics of the U-turners.

[jrenaut]

@jrenaut 53099 wrote:

I went through PA Ave about 30 minutes ago and there was a guy at maybe 10th or 11th doing a story on the u-turns…

Here’s the story. My interview didn’t make the cut.

[83b]

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/18993/zebra-could-prevent-u-turns-on-pennsylvania-avenue/

“Zebras” you say? They look perfect!

For anyone who didn’t get the email from WABA, here are the details for the meeting on this issue tomorrow:

Wed., May 29, 2013
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
National Capital Planning Commission offices
401 9th St. NW
Washington, D.C.
Google Maps bicycle directions
More information on the NPS website

[bluerider]

@83(b) 53322 wrote:

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/18993/zebra-could-prevent-u-turns-on-pennsylvania-avenue/

“Zebras” you say? They look perfect!

For anyone who didn’t get the email from WABA, here are the details for the meeting on this issue tomorrow:

Wed., May 29, 2013

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
National Capital Planning Commission offices
401 9th St. NW
Washington, D.C.
Google Maps bicycle directions
More information on the NPS website

Yes, as noted in the link above. My article on the Penn Avenue bike lanes was published today on Greater Greater Washington. There is hope things will improve.

[KLizotte]

Further info from WABA below:

Pennsylvania Ave NW is America’s main street, and all who use it—including bicyclists—deserve to use it safely. After installation of Pennsylvania Avenue’s center median bike lanes in 2010, ridership there has increased over 200 percent—despite the lack of physical separation between bikes and cars.

Only paint separates cyclists and drivers which has, unsurprisingly, not been a deterrent to drivers making dangerous U-turns across the bike lane. Within a year of Pennsylvania Avenue’s lanes being painted, 11 of the 16 crashed recorded on Pennsylvania Ave NW involved U-turning cars.

Last fall, through emergency rulemaking, we pushed to make U-turns across the lanes illegal and for increased enforcement by MPD. Since then, there have been a number of outreach events with D.C. Bike Ambassadors and MPD police officers to educate drivers about the consequences of U-turning. According to the mayor’s office, MPD has written 62 tickets and issued about 70 warnings.

But it’s now time to fix the underlying problem: Bicycles need physical separation from motor vehicles on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The bike lanes need a critical upgrade to prevent cars, taxi cabs, and trucks from illegally U-turning across them. The mayor’s office has stated it can’t make major changes to the streetscape without approval from federal agencies, including the Commission on the Fine Arts, the National Capital Planning Commission, and the National Park Service.

Tomorrow night, please come to the National Park Service’s public meeting to discuss the long-term management of Pennsylvania Avenue and ask that easy changes to keep cyclists safe be implemented as soon as possiblee.

Meeting details
Wed., May 29, 2013
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
National Capital Planning Commission offices
401 9th St. NW
Washington, D.C.

[mstone]

Wtf is mpd issuing warnings at all? I guarantee that if word got out among cabbies that the no u turn law were being enforced, they’d find a way to change their behavior. But with mpd making it clear they don’t care, what’s the incentive to change? And why are people still talking about cfa? They are purely advisory, and this is a safety issue rather than an aesthetic one. (Also, if I recall the actual language from cfa correctly, they said something like “prefer no barriers unless they are necessary” or some such–because they aren’t about to actually take responsibility for impeding a safety control.) The only reason to bring them up is to delay and cloud the issue.

Even thinking about this is frustrating. If it were causing fender benders, something would have already been done.

[jrenaut]

According to the Twitters, there’s enforcement of something going on right now on PA Ave. This is a huge improvement over every other day I’m aware of when nothing was enforced at all.

[Greenbelt]

Washcycle has a picture of flexposts reinstalled? http://www.thewashcycle.com/2013/05/new-bollards-on-penn-ave.html

Haven’t seen any of those down nearer the Hill yet…

[DCLiz]

ABC7 has a story on the proposed zebra barriers (h/t Washcycle). According to the story, multiple agencies are collecting comments on the proposal through June 13. I’m on my way out of town for the weekend, and I wasn’t easily able to find a link with more details about how to submit comments, but I plan to support them. As an aside, it’s amazing to me that the best person they could find to interview was a bike messenger. Why not a regular commuter, who may have decided that commuting was feasible because of those protected cycle tracks.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/06/ddot-considers-zebra-barriers-to-protect-bicyclists-on-pennsylvania-avenue-89720.html

[KLizotte]

@DCLiz 54299 wrote:

ABC7 has a story on the proposed zebra barriers (h/t Washcycle). According to the story, multiple agencies are collecting comments on the proposal through June 13. I’m on my way out of town for the weekend, and I wasn’t easily able to find a link with more details about how to submit comments, but I plan to support them. As an aside, it’s amazing to me that the best person they could find to interview was a bike messenger. Why not a regular commuter, who may have decided that commuting was feasible because of those protected cycle tracks.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/06/ddot-considers-zebra-barriers-to-protect-bicyclists-on-pennsylvania-avenue-89720.html

I can’t find anything on DDOT’s website looking for comments on this subject. Unfortunately my email system won’t let me contact their bicycle coordinator.

[dasgeh]

From looking at pictures, it seems like these things would be hard to see (for both cars and cyclists) and wouldn’t stop U-turns (it would just be a bumpy ride, like taxi drivers care). It looks almost like a string of bollard collars – a hazard for cyclists who might have to get out of the cycletrack (it’s happened to me with tourists walking).

What am I missing?

[ShawnoftheDread]

@dasgeh 54313 wrote:

From looking at pictures, it seems like these things would be hard to see (for both cars and cyclists) and wouldn’t stop U-turns (it would just be a bumpy ride, like taxi drivers care). It looks almost like a string of bollard collars – a hazard for cyclists who might have to get out of the cycletrack (it’s happened to me with tourists walking).

What am I missing?

I don’t really get it. Why don’t they just re-install the rest of the flexible bollards along the lanes?

[KLizotte]

@ShawnoftheDread 54319 wrote:

I don’t really get it. Why don’t they just re-install the rest of the flexible bollards along the lanes?

Evidently the fine arts commission thinks they would ruin the sightlines to the Capitol. Asides from that silliness, some taxi drivers have learned that they can drive over the flexiposts without damaging their cars. On the other hand….flexiposts seem like they would be more visible at night.

[Greenbelt]

@KLizotte 54358 wrote:

Evidently the fine arts commission thinks they would ruin the sightlines to the Capitol. Asides from that silliness, some taxi drivers have learned that they can drive over the flexiposts without damaging their cars. On the other hand….flexiposts seem like they would be more visible at night.

All the flexposts are now back in place — where they were before, near the intersections.

I think this is a great help, and the bike activist/safety community deserves credit for taking the pictures and video, writing the blogs, sharing the stories of hits and near misses, and generally being politically active.

I’m hopefully DDOT will go the next step and install the low-rise zebra barriers all along, but having our flexposts back is a big help, especially with heavy rain coming.

Besides, I think they look great. They don’t detract from the street view at all.

I also believe — although I don’t have evidence — that the current flexposts are well-liked by pedestrians. They seem to emphasize the pedestrian haven opportunity and prevent cars and buses and trucks from short-turning at intersections and putting peds at (more) risk.

[Author]

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